Monday 5 September 2022
Dear Singers
Countdown time! On Tuesday 6 September, I will be doing some auditions. On Tuesday 13 September we have our first rehearsal of the new season! I’m really looking forward to being back working with you again. We will welcome Josie Lau as our accompanist.
Reminder: I know there are folks with away-time planned. PLEASE EMAIL ME to confirm absence dates. Depending on how the rehearsal schedule works out, it may impact on participation in the any concert, and I may ask you to reaudition on that repertoire.
I know you’ve had a wonderful welcome-back letter from Laura, with all the membership info you need. Here’s the music stuff!
CONCERT DATES/TIMES
November 5 concert – In Memory – originally planned for Fraserview, but because of a conflict, we’ve had to move it to South Arm United. That means that we couldn’t do a full joint concert, but we can do the Fauré Requiem, which needs a smaller ensemble – so the Orchestra will do the first half, and the Requiem will be the second half.
Afternoon rehearsal – 3:30-5pm (then reset stage for Orchestra rehearsal). Those who come a distance should bring concert dress and something to eat; we have the Heritage Room booked. Concert call 7pm for 7:30pm
An optional extra – I have scheduled the Fauré at St Mary’s Kerrisdale for the afternoon of Sunday 6 November for an All Souls service where we remember those gone in the past year. This would be a 2pm rehearsal call for a 4pm service. Let me know if you don’t want to be part of it. I may invite singers from St Mary’s choir to join us for the Saturday concert.
December 10 concert – Magnificat – originally planned as a joint concert, but we’re now making it Chorus only, and I am returning to a program we did 11 years ago – all Mary-music, to include (but not limited to)
· Britten – Hymn to the Virgin
· Biebl – Ave Maria
· Lowry/Green – Mary, did you know
· Vivaldi – Magnificat
· Ray – Gospel Magnificat
lots of solo and ensemble possibilities – and not so much Christmas fluff!
April 18 concert – The Music’s Always There – will be on a Tuesday evening by request of our concert partners, the choir from Steveston-London Secondary School, under the direction of Michael Mikulin. They have been part of Richmond Sings in previous years.
The program will comprise music composed or arranged by John Rutter and Bob Chilcott – some with them, some with us, and some with both choirs together.
We will certainly be offering Chilcott’s Little Jazz Mass but the music will include folk and pop arrangements by both composers.
June 3 concert – When We Were Young – was originally scheduled for the following week, but another Fraserview conflict has bumped us back. I’m still working on this program - looking for the songs that were classics for us as we grew up (though pop songs don’t always transfer well to a choral arrangement!)
REHEARSAL PRACTICALITIES
It doesn’t need to be said, but if you feel at all unwell, please stay home and test! A Zoomed rehearsal is not at all the same as an in-person one for you and for the rest of your section, but it’s better than nothing at all. Zoom code will be the same:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/95350781933?pwd=Y1NSQld3QTVROCtVUUdZMzZONnVIQT09
Meeting ID: 953 5078 1933 Passcode: SATB
However, I would prefer not to be Zooming unless it’s necessary, so this is BY REQUEST, please.
I need to hear from you by 6pm if a) you’re not going to be at rehearsal in person, and b) if you want to join us by Zoom. A rehearsal attended on Zoom will be credited to you (as long as you attend all of it!) when I’m deciding who is able to take part in a concert.
You can contact me – 604-790-2367, voice or text, or brigidatROCA@gmail.com at any time. I will check messages before I leave – but I will not be doing so once I’m headed out for rehearsal; any last-minute calls to your section-leaders, please.
THE DREADED COVID STUFF...
I have every sympathy with those who are experiencing mask fatigue, but for the time being at least, I need to you be prepared to mask for the 2-hours-minus of ROCA rehearsal – even if you don’t wear a mask at all the rest of the week. This thing has not gone away, though those of us who have done our vaccinations and have still had “the bug” have found that we’ve mostly dealt better with it than we had feared. We have every hope that the new anti-Omicron vaccinations will improve the odds.
That being said, I think there are very few of us who don’t know someone who’s been sick with it. And for those who are fit and healthy it may not be more than a week or two of discomfort. But for the older ones among us, or those who are immune-compromised, or fearful, it’s still a concern. And the science hasn’t changed – the act of singing pushes out more aerosols than simply talking.
So I am backing up what the Safety Committee have said – for the immediate future, we mask for rehearsals. We may, with RAT tests, have the possibility of making future concerts mask-optional. But I want to hold with our self-naming as a COMMUNITY Chorus and care for each other with the decision to put a mask on for two hours.
I would also ask you to be careful about what sort of mask you wear for singing. The ideal one is a well-fitting (no gaps at the edges) three-layer mask with at least one layer of non-woven polypropylene. Because everyone’s face is different, you may do better with a flat mask, or a home-made singers mask (with more depth) or a commercial mask, even an N95 – I won’t tell you what pattern to wear. But 3-layer with NWPP, please.
And I need to remind you that I am putting my health in your hands – you have requested that I NOT mask so that you can see and hear me clearly; with 50 singers pushing out aerosols in my direction, I appreciate knowing that I am as safe as you can make me.
For the other COVID mitigations
· there will be sanitizer available – please use!
· We are blessed to be in Fraserview, with good space. However, they don’t have up-to-date air-exchange systems, so we will continue to distance as practical. Please take responsibility for having doors open.
I will probably not do the seating labels this year, and trust you to leave space between you and the folks around you.
· We will take a decent break, and people are encouraged to go outside and unmask as needed.
I’m excited about this season’s program – some things we’ve done before and loved, some new things – and I really hope we can get a full season of singing this time, with no COVID shut-downs, and share our music again with each other and the Richmond community.
Registrations are coming in – please make sure you are registered before the first rehearsal.
Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday 13 September!
Brigid
